


I know that you’re my enemy (but I love you all the same)

by Lorekhai



Category: Wolverine And The X-Men (Cartoon), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, I Will Fill This Tag Myself If I Have To, Illness, Imprisonment, Injury, Injury Recovery, Light Angst, Medical Inaccuracies, Not Beta Read, Post-Episode 10: Greetings from Genosha, but like speedrun, or all at the same time, you'll have to pull my prepositional phrases from my cold dead hands
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26956894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lorekhai/pseuds/Lorekhai
Summary: She couldn’t stop seeing the wonder in Kurt’s eyes when she’d taken him to the concert, or the joy at simply being able to walk outside. She couldn’t stop seeing the betrayal and disappointment in his eyes when he discovered the dark secrets beneath Genosha’s glittering facade. Now he had been returned to her. Now he was safe. But could he ever forgive her?
Relationships: Wanda Maximoff/Kurt Wagner
Comments: 9
Kudos: 19





	1. Do Not Disappoint Me

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever fanfic! I rewatched Wolverine and the X-men recently, went to ao3 to read some fanfic, and realized there were only 47 works in the show's tag! Please feel free to comment or make constructive criticisms.

Mystique returned to Genosha with Kurt’s limp form slung over one shoulder. She dumped him unceremoniously onto the floor of the throne room and casually stepped around his crumpled form. She bowed to Magneto, king of this castle, and made her report. She had neutralized a number of the X-men, was running circles around the rest, but Kurt’s escape from the island had prevented her from ascertaining Xavier’s condition. It had been unfortunate to interrupt the shapeshifter’s mission, but it proved necessary. Mystique had stopped Kurt not twenty feet from the X-men’s door. 

Injured and exhausted, he hadn’t stood a chance against one of Magneto’s most effective operatives. Especially not while she wore the face of a friend. Wanda could hardly hear her father as he praised Mystique’s brutal efficiency. Could hardly stop herself from going to Kurt’s side. He hadn’t stirred once from where he’d fallen on the cold iron floor. It had taken every ounce of her self-control to stand resolutely beside Magneto, wearing the inscrutable face of the Scarlet Witch.

As soon as Mystique left, Wanda’s composure cracked. Intensely aware of her father’s eyes on her, she walked to Kurt as quickly as she dared and kneeled down beside him. His usually vibrant fur seemed drab and faded. She couldn’t stop herself from reaching out to bush his hair away from his face, but recoiled when she felt the frigid dampness of his fur.

Laying a hand on his chest, she felt the same terrible coldness. His breaths were slow and shallow, and she could barely feel his heart beating under her palm. Years of Magneto’s survival lessons told her that Kurt was hypothermic, cold enough that his body had foregone shivering to preserve what little energy it had left. Closer to him, she could smell the salt of the ocean. With a sinking feeling she realized that during the hundreds—if not thousands—of teleport jumps Kurt had made between Genosha and the X-men’s mansion, he must have fallen into the open water. Probably more than once.

Wanda swept off her red cloak and draped it over the unconscious man, making sure all his limbs were covered. She turned to her father.

“His heart and respiratory rates are both dangerously low,” she said. “He needs immediate medical attention.”

Magneto raised an eyebrow, his only reaction. Wanda held his gaze, and spoke with a calm she didn’t feel.

“Father, capturing an X-man is one thing, but if they ever find out we killed one of their own it will be as good as a declaration of war. We cannot afford to fight them _and_ the humans.”

Magneto gave his daughter a considering look. Wanda knew her father didn’t believe for one moment that her concern for Kurt’s welfare was born solely of the political ramifications of his death. However, he couldn’t deny that her reasoning was sound.

“Very well, Wanda,” he said. “But measures must be put in place to ensure he does not escape again.”

“Of course, Father,” she replied, returning her attention to Kurt. 

Magneto strode towards the doorway, but paused with a hand on the frame.

Without turning, he said, “The X-man is your responsibility now, child. Do not disappoint me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can y'all tell I'm not super comfortable with dialogue? 
> 
> I absolutely love Kurt and Wanda's relationship. They genuinely care for each other, but Wanda's main example of how to show love is fucking Magneto, so she's got some stuff to learn and unlearn.


	2. As Familiar As Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final scene of "Greetings from Genosha" from Kurt's perspective. He has finally made it home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been awhile, hasn't it? School got a bit crazy, and I didn't have the energy to continue this for a while. I have a lot of experience with technical writing, but writing fiction is a whole different animal. All of my chapters are probably going to be a bit short. Thank you for all the kudos and lovely comments everyone left on the first chapter! I hope you like this one too!

Kurt had spent so much of his life cold and alone. The sensations had become as familiar to him as old friends, as family. They no longer scared him. 

_I am cold, I am alone, but I am not afraid._

He repeated these thoughts like a mantra during the endless hours teleporting across the dark of the ocean. He repeated it when he fell into the water and the icy chill cut straight to his bones. Only when he finally, _finally,_ reached the rocky shore did he stop. Soon he wouldn’t be alone. His friends would chase away the cold, and Kurt would have no more reasons to be afraid.

One last teleport and he was within sight of the X-men’s mansion. He felt himself relax, and as the adrenaline faded Kurt felt each and every one of the injuries he’d sustained during his escape. His trembling legs gave out, and he fell to his hands and knees. Just twenty more feet and he would be safe. The mansion was the only place he had _ever_ felt safe.

_Except for last night,_ he couldn’t help but think. _When you were with her._

The sting of disappointment was almost worse than the pain of his battered body. For one glorious evening, he had walked freely under the open sky, had gone to a _concert_ , for heaven’s sake, and never once felt the need to shrink away from the light. It had been everything he never let himself dream of. 

But it had been a lie. Magneto touted Genosha as a beacon of peace and freedom, all while secretly imprisoning the very mutants he claimed to protect. Kurt was an X-man. No amount of time spent unafraid in the sunlight could justify the suffering of those kept in the dark. The truth should not have surprised him. Magneto would never change.

_But Wanda had seemed—_

“Is that you, Kurt?”

Kurt looked up to see Logan walking towards him. The man knelt in front of Kurt and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I thought you were in Genosha.”

Kurt tried to straighten and gather his last dregs of energy. The X-men needed to know the truth about Genosha. They needed to be _warned_. 

“Logan,” he managed weakly. “You must stop Magneto.”

Logan stood with a faint, almost cold smile. Kurt dully thought that he had never seen an expression like that on his friend’s face before.

“I’ll get right on that bub.”

Before Kurt could register the boot coming towards his face, it had made solid contact with his jaw. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've watched the show, none of this should have been a surprise. But still, OOF! I mean this poor little bastard teleported across what had to have been several hundred, if not several THOUSAND miles of open ocean after getting the shit kicked out of him. As shown in the previous chapter, Kurt's a wreck. Please let me know if you spot any typos! Stay safe everyone!


	3. Love Makes Fools of Us All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanda sits at Kurt's bedside.

Wanda sat at Kurt’s bedside in a small room in Genosha’s undercity.  _ You mean Genosha’s dungeons, _ a voice whispered traitorously in her mind. A fluorescent light sputtered overhead, painting the unconscious mutant with a sickly pallor. It was usually cold this far underground, but several heaters had been brought in to stave off Nightcrawler’s hypothermia. The only door in the room had no visible handle. It was designed to only open from the outside. Where a small barred window would usually be was instead a newly-welded metal plate. Wanda had read enough about the teleporter’s power to know he had to see where he was going, so she took appropriate measures to prevent his escape. The X-man was her responsibility, after all.

Wanda held Kurt’s hand in a light grip. She knew she had no right. His X-man uniform had gloves, and she remembered he’d worn gloves with his tuxedo too. At the concert she had thought he was being adorably formal, but now she wondered if he didn’t like his hands to be touched. She shouldn’t have been so surprised by how rough his palms were, given the way Kurt seemed to prefer running on all fours. His fur, however, was so much softer than she’d imagined. If he were awake he would probably jerk away, but for now she let herself be selfish. At least he was no longer so deathly cold. 

She kept her eyes on the monitors, on the floor, the walls. Anything but the man in the hospital bed. If she didn’t look at him, Wanda could pretend that she was genuinely caring for Kurt. That when he woke, he would smile at her, and she could admonish him for being so reckless. If she didn’t look at him, Wanda could pretend she wasn’t the one who hurt him. But that would be even more selfish.

She looked at him.

She trailed her gaze up his arm, past the wide padded restraints around his wrist. She knew the blankets hid similar restraints on his ankles and tail. Just below his elbow, a small rectangle of his fur had been shaved so the medics could insert an IV that steadily dripped saline and sedatives into his blood. His uniform had been removed in favor of a hospital gown. Wanda had sent it to be cleaned and repaired, hoping Kurt might appreciate having his own clothes when he recovered. Electrodes on his chest recorded his heart and respiration rates. Both were still lower than she would like, but that could be due to the sedatives. Finally, Wanda forced herself to look at his face. His fur hid any bruises, but she thought she could make out some swelling around his jaw where Mystique had kicked him. A blindfold was secured over his eyes, so he wouldn’t be able to teleport out of his restraints.

Wanda was just grateful she didn’t have to look at his eyes. She couldn’t stop thinking about the wonder in them when she’d taken him to the concert, or his joy at simply being able to walk outside in daylight. She couldn’t stop seeing the betrayal and disappointment when he discovered the dark secrets beneath Genosha’s glittering facade. She didn’t think she could handle seeing that again so soon. 

Why couldn’t Kurt understand? Magneto’s actions may be unsavory, but they were  _ necessary _ to keep Genosha safe! Her father had built Genosha as a sanctuary for mutants just like Kurt, who had no hope of blending in with the human population. If half the rumors about his childhood were true, he should have jumped at the chance to live here in peace! Her father was right, Xavier’s X-men were idealistic fools who lacked the will to actually protect their people. 

_ “I am no fool,” Nightcrawler said, giving Magneto a cold and determined glare before teleporting off into the dark. _

Kurt certainly hadn’t lacked any will then. 

_ Maybe you’re the fool,  _ the voice whispered again. Wanda stood abruptly and shook her head to try to clear the ridiculous thought. It had been a long night. She just needed some rest. Wanda strode over to the door and knocked.

“Open the door. I’m leaving,” she said.

The door swung open almost immediately. None of Magneto’s lackeys were willing to risk his wrath — or hers — by leaving the Scarlet Witch locked in a cell for a moment longer than she wanted. 

“If there are any changes in Nightcrawler’s condition, notify me immediately,” she told the guard. “I will return in the morning.” He bowed and mumbled his assurances.

As she headed towards her quarters, she considered bringing something with her tomorrow to occupy her mind. A book, perhaps. And if she decided to read aloud while monitoring the X-man, well, that was her business.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back, dear readers. I didn't have the energy to continue this for a good long while, but here's a new chapter! 
> 
> In the show, the brief mention that Wanda read to Kurt during his captivity absolutely haunts me. I was determined to work it into my fic. This version of Kurt and Wanda live in my head rent-free.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


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